Barriers associated with frequency of leisure-time physical activity among Brazilian adults of different income strata.

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of the main perceived barriers to leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and their associations with the frequency of LTPA in a representative sample of industrial workers from Brazil (n = 47,477), according to their income strata (low income: ≤$US280, middle income: $US281-$US1400, and high income: ≥$US1401). Data were collected between 2006 and 2008 via questionnaires about the main perceived barrier to LTPA and the frequency of LTPA. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate differences among groups. There was a lower prevalence of regular practice of LTPA in the low- (15.8%) and middle-income strata (18.2%) than among the individuals of the high-income stratum (27.6%). A large proportion of workers who regularly participated in LTPA reported no barriers (low: 43.1%; middle: 46.8%; high: 51.6%). Additional obligations and fatigue were the two most common perceived barriers in all family income strata among participants who engaged in different frequencies of LTPA. The odds for all perceived barriers showed a positive trend related to frequency of LTPA (from regular to no LTPA), with higher values according to income. In summary, the ordering of the main perceived barriers to LTPA differed according to workers' income stratum and frequency of engaging in LTPA.

Activity of synaptosomal ATP diphosphohydrolase from hippocampus of rats tolerant to forebrain ischemia.

Cerebral ischemia causes cell death of vulnerable neurons in mammalian brain. Wistar adult rats (male and female, weighing 180-280 g) were submitted to 2 min, 10 min, or to 2 and 10 min (separated by a 24-h interval) of transient forebrain ischemia by the four-vessel occlusion method. Animals subjected to the longer ischemic episodes had massive necrosis of pyramidal CA1 cells of the hippocampus, while animals receiving double ischemia (2 + 10 min) showed neuronal tolerance to the ischemic insult. ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity from hippocampal synaptosomes was assayed in these three groups (N = 6 animals/group) under two conditions: no reperfusion and 5-min of reperfusion. The control values for ATPase and ADPase activities were 144.7 +/- 18.8 and 60.6 +/- 5.24 nmol Pi min-1 mg protein-1, respectively. The 10-min group without reperfusion showed an enhancement of approximately 20% for ATPase and ADPase activities. In reperfused rats, only the 2-min group had a 20% increase in both enzymatic activities. We suggest that modulation of ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity might be involved in molecular events that follow both ischemia and reperfusion.

Activity of synaptosomal ATP diphosphohydrolase from hippocampus of rats tolerant to forebrain ischemia

Cerebral ischemia causes cell death of vulnerable neurons in mammalian brain. Wistar adult rats (male and female, weighing 180-280 g) were submitted to 2 min, 10 min, or to 2 and 10 min (separated by a 24-h interval) of transient forebrain ischemia by the four-vessel occlusion method. Animals subjected to the longer ischemic episodes had massive necrosis of pyramidal CA1 cells of the hippocampus, while animals receiving double ischemia (2 + 10 min) showed neuronal tolerance to the ischemic insult. ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity from hippocampal synaptosomes was assayed in these three groups (N = 6 animals/group) under two conditions: no reperfusion and 5-min of reperfusion. The control values for ATPase and ADPase activities were 144.7 +/- 18.8 and 60.6 +/- 5.24 nmol Pi min-1 mg protein-1, respectively. The 10-min group without reperfusion showed an enhancement of approximately 20 for ATPase and ADPase activities. In reperfused rats, only the 2-min group had a 20 increase in both enzymatic activities. We suggest that modulation of ATP-diphosphohydrolase activity might be involved in molecular events that follow both ischemia and reperfusion.